As a medium for recording information signals, such as audio signals, an optical disc as a high-density recording medium, is becoming popular. This optical disc has a feature that it can be random-accessed and moreover is easy to handle because it is housed in a thin small-sized cartridge. This optical disc is classified into a re-recordable type capable of re-recording information signals, such as a magneto-optical disc or a phase-change optical disc, and a read-only type dedicated to reproduction, such as a so-called compact disc.
Since the re-recordable optical discs record information signals, such as audio signals, as digital signals, the playback sound of high sound quality can be produced, while editing or duplication can be done easily without substantially degrading the sound quality.
In a reproducing apparatus for the read-only compact disc, a variety of reproducing devices, having the medium exchange function of housing plural discs in a pre-set stocker and of taking out the discs in an optional sequence for continuous reproduction, have so far been presented to the market. However, only a few types of the recording devices adapted for recording on recordable optical discs and having the exchange function have been offered to the market.
The recording medium comprised of a recordable optical disc housed in a small-sized cartridge has the maximum recording time of the order of 74 min such that it cannot sufficiently meet the demand for recording a broadcast program of prolonged time duration. In particular, if desired to record information signals, such as audio signals, on plural disc-shaped recording mediums in succession, the disc-shaped recording mediums need to be sequentially inserted by manual operation into the recording device one-by-one for recording to render it extremely difficult to realize continuous recording for a prolonged time duration.
If the user records on a recording medium being used, there are occasions wherein crucial information signals not desirable to be erased have been recorded on the disc. It is therefore desirable that recording be made in a non-recorded area of the recording medium without erasing the pre-recording area.
In the case of a recording device in which information signals, such as audio signals, as the plural recordable recording mediums, such as optical discs, are exchanged, it is desirable not only to designate the medium by a manual operation, but also to exchange the mediums automatically by control signals in the course of recording.
Also, in the case of appointing broadcast programs by a tuner/timer device, it would be convenient if plural broadcast programs are appointed and these appointed broadcast programs are allocated to respective different mediums to effect recording, since then the editing operation of recording the different broadcast programs on a sole medium and re-recoding the programs on respective separate recording mediums can be omitted.